freeipods.com

[xera]

I just found this on a forum and I can't figure out exactly how it works. What these offers are etc. I'm not interested in signing up, but it bugs me when I can figure things out. So just let me know if you figure anything out.

[xera]

Sorry for posting this I finally found a little info. It doesn't seem to be a matrix system like I had originally thought. Sorry for posting about this site.

[MatrixWatch]

Xera,
I've moved this topic to our "Other Internet Scams" sub-forum. We have receive a large number of questions about this new type of marketing scheme, and we would like to have as much information on it as possible.

Please post the information that you found here. You don't need to be sorry at all. It is great to gather as much info as possible on popular scams.

Members, if any of you have info about these "Free iPod" offers please post! I know a couple people who are involved in this and it seems to be spreading rather quickly.

If there is enough conversation about this, then I may consider creating a separate sub-forum for it.

[xera]

Well the info I was looking for was how they worked and started an account on their site. How this works is you sign up with one of their sponsers, but I'm not positive what this costs. Then you must get five people to refer you and sign up for an offer. You then get your iPod.

I do not have a clue if you really get one if it didn't cost alot I'd be tempted to do it, but to get to the point where they should send me an iPod I would have to get 5 other people into this.

This is all I have gathered so far. I an iPod from them.

[Dreamer]

Hi,

What you said is basically true. You click one of their advertisers links, get 5 people to do the same and your set.

How does this work? They get paid for the clicks and the follow thru. There is no money out of your pocket or the people you ask to sign up, so its most likely legit.

Why did it get moved to the internet scams folder? Here is the problem. Getting 5 people to do it all. Once all 6 of you do it, than what is more likely the situation is that they'll find some rule you broke in the terms and not send you your product.

So, if you do it, make sure you really understand the terms to that site, and the terms for whatever you click on and follow them completely. If you can convince 5 people that it ISN'T a scam and get them to do the same thing, make sure they follow everything completely also. And don't get "family members" or "friends" to sign up using the same IP address. They don't like that.

If you do do it, you should come back here and let us know how it turns out. How hard it was convincing people to do it and if you ever got your iPod.

[MatrixWatch]

What I think is most messed up about this situation is the following:

Large companies like AOL are listed in these site's ways of getting "points". So, you sign up for AOL, my five friends sign up too. Most, if not all, of the people who are signing up immediately cancel their accounts. However, even if we cancel AOL still sends the referall cash to the owner of the freeiPods site. AOL then turns around and tells their investors that they have had so many new accounts opened, when in all actuality many of those accounts were opened up and subsequently canceled within approx. 10 days.

It is not just the FreeiPods scam that operates this way. Several other get-rich-quick schemes operate the same way. So, large companies are indirectly profiting off these internet scam sites. It brings them large amounts of subscribers, and they in turn pay referral gifts to the scammers.

It is a messed up system that needs to change.

[Dreamer]

Hey Watchdog,

Is it a scam? I don't know. Would I do it? No.

I think it is a legitimate opportunity to get something for free. Everybody knows what it is. Why would AOL or eBay sponcer this? I'm not entirely sure. But, lets look at it more.

You sign up. You get 5 people to sign up. Once everything goes through, you get $250. Simple. At that cost, the cost to AOL or eBay would be $50 for each person. If the site thinks that only 1 in 5 people will be able to finish all the steps, than that would drive the cost down to $15-$20 per person. That should be enough money to pay off all the people who successfully completes the plan.

So, why would AOL pay a $15 referel fee for each "potential customer"? Maybe I'll contact some of these businesses associated with freeipods and ask (like they'll tell me). But, the thing is you get these choices, and chances are that you'll click on something you might be interested in, and if your interested in it, you might subscribe to their service. That sounds good. But, where is the chess links I can click over to? Where are the things I am most interested in? Everybody knows how to get AOL for free. Everybody knows how to buy something on eBay. I'm not sure why they support it, but they do.

For you and me, it costs nothing. The people we refer costs nothing. Ok, I sign up, and i get 5 friends to do the same thing. If I never get anything, what have I lost? Nothing. There is no list. There is nothing hidden. I know I will receive the iPod 2 months after I complete my end of the bargin...so long as I didn't screw it up.

as for the site, they are banking that most people won't complete the required steps and they'll still make money from AOL etc. I'm sure by the time it comes to sending out the product they'll look for a reason not to. Its like those store rebates. That money is rightfully mine. But maybe I didn't sign something I should have, or my handwritting wasn't readable. Maybe I didn't send something, or...they'll find a reason not to send me my rebate. But I heard like 5% of people who are entitled to rebates actually send it in. I personally don't buy anything for the rebates. And when I am entitled to something, I fall in the 95% group.

So, again, I ask. Is it a scam? I'm going to say no. I think it is just a different marketing system. The consumer wins if they get their product. The site wins from all the people who don't complete the agreement. And the sponsors win...somehow.

[xera]

I'm going to sign up for this and I will let you know how its going. The most tempting is probably the blockbuster one. Though I have not started I already have 1 person willing to do it. I will let you know how it progresses.

[mercinary]

I'm actually going to side with Dreamer. If companies are willing to shell out cash for people to sign up (even if 90 out of 100 are going to cancel their account), then whatever. No one is really losing here.

This idea has been around a long time. I have been a member at mypoints.com for a long, long, long time, and have gotten a fair amount of free stuff through them just for signing up for sites and whatnot. I typically never sign up for something and then cancel it (because I am too lazy), but I am sure there are people out there that do.

Long story short, if the stockholders are the only ones being duped, then this isn't really a scam....although maybe an ethical issue for these companies.

We have bigger fish to fry in my opinion.

-Merc

[mercinary]

On another note, the watchdogs actually report a significant number of eBay auctions that are advertising for freeipods.com. This isn't nessisarily intentional, as we search for things like " selling a link for <blah>".....which catches freeipod.com listings too. One way or another, the listing is against eBay policy, as it is offering sale of goods outside eBay (which is circumventing listing fees), so I have no problem reporting them.

-Merc

[Dreamer]

Hey Mercinary,

I agree with you, but I'm not entirely sure that the stockholders are being duped.

I know how AOL operates (well, I haven't the faintest idea, but I'm just asying it for argumet). We have 10million subscribers. Well, 5 million just signed up last week, and they won't survive past the first 45 days. Ok, 1 million have more than one account...a work account, a business account, or whatever. Now look at us, we are getting people to sign up left and right. It sounds impressive...but it doesn't sound right to me.

But we can use a few numbers. Lets say they ship out 10,000 iPods. Lets say the referal fee is $50 per person. Since there are 10 different things the customer can do, lets say AOL gets 1,000 hits from them. So, AOL pays $50,000 to the site. Now, if 10% of those sign up for the service and keep it for a year, 100 people pay $25 a month for 10 months (so I don't have to bust out my calculator) and AOL gets an additional $25,000. Ok, my math is still off. But you get the idea.

Again, I pose the question...what does AOL gain from spending this $50,000? I don't remember seeing advertisements for AOL sharing they are participating in this. But, what is AOLs annual advertising budget? Is $50,000 even 1% of that? I doubt it. So, its not much money for guaranteed hits.

Companies spend alot of money on failed advertising. The nice thing about this type of marketing is they only pay for direct hits to their site. But $50 a hit? We need to come up with some way to get AOL lots of business so we can get some of that action!

I don't think its scamish, however, its just not something I want to get involved in. Yeah, it seems like very easy money (or iPods) but well...this will be something that i just won't do.

I still want you to keep us posted, if WD doesn't mind. Let us know if you ever get it, how hard it was to convince people to do it, etc. I googled iPod Scam and well...i couldn't find many people to admit it was a scam. So, I hope it works out for you.

[MatrixWatch]

I remember reading on a forum out there that one of these "FreeiPod" sites was using the project to steal sensitive information from people. I'll look that one up and post it here when I get the correct link.

My basic principle is that you should never go into business with, or get financially involved with, an entity that you could not later easily find if they didn't hold to their side of the deal.

I have no problem giving my personal details to my electric company, my bank, or my internet-service provider. I know that if they pull something fishy or scammish I can get a lawyer and go after them for it. This is not often the case with internet-based get-rich-quick sites. They oftentimes hide behind false registry info, and it is very difficult to track them down.

If someone wants to take the risk and get involved in the newest scheme out there, then I would immediately caution them against it. What they are expecting may not ever come to pass.

Matrix sites make large promises, and people assume that they will get a gift when they cycle. Not so with most of the sites out there. You money is gone and you don't get a gift.

Pyramid scams make large promises, but like the FreeiPods sites they pull up a set of rules you broke when you fulfill your side of the bargain.

Websites sell pills designed to make you more endowed, or to make you lose/gain weight. But these pills do not often work, and you can't do anything about it once you decide to go after the company who sold it to you.

These new, fringe ideas to make more money are not safe because you never know if the testimonials are true. You never know if it isn't just one person behind all of the posts raving about how great this new program is. They are also so new and cutting edge that the laws are not as clear and the consumer has a limited amount of protection.

Let us know how it goes should you choose to still move forward.

[MatrixWatch]

Check out this article from Wired News (http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,64614,00.html?tw=wn_2culthead). It is a two-page article so be sure to read the whole thing before commenting.

I found it to be an interesting read and it clarifies a few points that we were addressing here. Apparently, AOL and eBay are much more aware of this marketing scheme than we first thought.

The site is certified by Truste, which settles most of our concerns over privacy. However, what we need to determine is whether people are actually getting their iPods now that things have picked up with consumer interest in the program.

Let's keep digging on this one.

[FalconV]

Sorry I'm a little late, I just found this site today and signed up, and ran across this thread. I have also signed up for a free ipod, and someone above mentioned signing up for Blockbuster. That's fine, if you plan on actually keeping the account.
Whenever you sign up for these, at freeipods.com, they actually have popups that TELL YOU THE CATCH (I was really surprised to see that!). For Blockbuster, you cannot cancel during the two week trial period! If you do, you don't get points... if you don't, you get charged for staying with the offer. Sure, it's what, $20? definitely worth the iPod! But, if you're really skimping on the cash (like me), then go for stamps.com! It gives you instant credit, and is totally fine if you cancel before the trial is over. No charges, nothing. However, BE SURE you cancel before the trial is over, because once the trial ends, you get charged not only the $15, but if you decide to cancel, you get charged another $15. Hope this helps anyone who decides to try this out. And if you haven't signed up for an account, and want to help me, PM me or e-mail me and I'll give you my referral link (hope y'all don't mind my little plug here).

[jokach]

In doing some research online about the Freeipods craze, I did notice one of the potential drawbacks and it might just be my ignorance of not knowing how it truly works. I have read quite a few reviews where they state a difference between 'referrals' and 'sign-ups' in this program. I guess you can refer someone for an ipod, but you only get points and credit if someone actually signs up. ON a specific site dedicated to this type of stuff, people have complained about having 20-30 referrals and only one sign-up.

Does the above sound correct to anybody who might be involved in this program? Is the true challenge in this getting people to actually sign up and not just look?

jokach

[scottw3]

As someone who has personally recieved my ipod, I can tell you these sites are legit. It took me a while to get my ipod (about a month or so). That could be because of the backorder of ipods, or because freeipods.com wanted to hold ionto their money for a while. But what's important is I got it. There are plenty of sites out there now that have people posting pictures of their free stuff. I have also completed the free flatscreens site and recieved my sony TV a few weeks ago. I'm doing their computer and ipod one now. I'll let you know how that goes, but from my position, it gets my approval.

[jokach]

I always read the getting people to sign up for the referrals is the trick to getting the ipod (or flat-screen or whatever). Is it really difficult to get people referred who ACTUALLY sign up and keep the offers? I've also heard about slow response times from the processor in providing credits for referrals .... is any of this true from what you've seen?